1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a method for adjusting the throttling action of a valve having a valve disk which deforms to effect a throttling action.
2. Description of the Related Art
A damping valve in a vibration damper usually has at least one valve disk, which rises from the surface of a valve seat as a function of the prevailing pressure relationships and thus generates a damping force. A valve disk consists of a material with certain limited elasticity and is mass-produced by stamping. Although the valve disk has a comparatively high degree of dimensional accuracy, the function of the valve is also determined by the clamping diameter, by its position, and by the contact diameter. The direction in which the valve disk was rolled also has an effect. During the course of production, however, it is not possible to mount a valve disk in such a way that that its rolling direction is taken into account.
A valve for a hydraulic telescoping vibration damper is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,050. The design of this valve makes it possible to adjust the individual valve disks. For this purpose, the valve body is connected separately to a piston rod and then provided with valve disks. An adjusting sleeve or stud is used to clamp the valve disks to a certain extent, and by the use of an appropriate device, the lifting force of the valve disks from their seating surfaces can be measured. When the desired lifting force is obtained, the adjusting stud or adjusting sleeve is locked in position. As a result, it is possible to adjust the damping force of the valve to the desired value with considerable precision, regardless of manufacturing tolerances. It is necessary, however, to use a specially designed piston, in particular a specially adapted piston mounting system.
DE 100 38 971 A1, which represents the basic prior art, describes a process for adjusting the throttling action of a valve comprising a valve body with at least one through-channel for a working medium, where the working medium is subjected to a throttling action as a result of the design of the throttling channel. By making use of a laser beam, the component(s) of the valve which determine(s) the throttling action of the valve is/are modified so that deviations from a predetermined throttling action are minimized, this being done by burning a recess in the valve disk as the throttling channel.